Elder abuse on the rise, police warn
Everyone must be alert to danger, former detective says
By Robert Sibley, The Ottawa Citizen
May 29, 2010
Police worry that, unless the public becomes more knowledgeable about elder abuse, the problem will reach epidemic proportions as the baby boom generation heads into its retirement years.
"It's going to be right off the scale," Acting Sgt. Christina Wolf said Friday. "There's way more coming."
Wolf, a former detective in the Ottawa Police elder abuse section, points to one of her own investigations as typical of this growing social concern. The case involves a man in his 70s and a 78-year-old woman who, between them, were defrauded of about $50,000 over several years by a man they regarded as "angel" for helping them.
The man was their neighbour in a City of Ottawa mixed-age apartment complex that has low-income seniors sharing a building with people on social assistance, most of whom are younger.
Wolf regards such mixed-age arrangements as all too often a setting for crime: "We see this as very dangerous. It makes them (seniors) really easy prey."
Richard Dean Broome, 48, is to appear Monday in the Elgin Street courthouse on 2009 charges that allege he defrauded an elderly woman of thousands of dollars over four years after establishing "a relationship of trust." He
is charged with theft under $5,000, fraud exceeding $5,000, 25 counts of uttering a forged document, unauthorized use of credit-card data and criminal breach of trust.
Broome also faces charges from 2008 of defrauding a man in his 70s of several thousand dollars. In this case, he is charged with fraud exceeding $5,000, false pretenses, obstructing justice and breach of probation.
Earlier this week, two women who had worked in a retirement home in Cumberland -- Mary Joanne Ireanne Talbot-Brisson, 46, and her daughter Mary Joanne Josée Brisson, 22 -- were charged with defrauding seniors of about $346,000.
Such cases underscore police concerns about elder-abuse crimes. Wolf said about 700 cases of elder abuse -- from physical abuse and neglect to emotional and financial abuse -- have been reported to the elder abuse section since it was established in January 2005. She suspects many more go unreported, either out of fear or embarrassment.
"We're seeing the tip of the iceberg right now. I know there's more in the building but they aren't coming forward," Wolf said in reference to the mixed-age apartment building.
In many cases, she said, the seniors involved are frail and vulnerable to anyone who appears willing to offer companionship or help them do things they are no longer easily able to do themselves.
The 78-year-old woman, for example, is a frail invalid who needs considerable caregiving. A seemingly friendly neighbour offered to do errands for her and gradually gained her trust, to the point where she turned over her bank card so he could purchase things on her behalf.
"She thought he was a great guy, an angel," Wolf said. Over a period of three years, he gradually emptied her bank account.
Something similar happened to the elderly man, although this time his seemingly helpful neighbour started asked for "loans" after subjecting him to various hardluck stories. Eventually, when the money was never repaid, the senior confronted his younger neighbour, only to be punched in the chest.
Wolf is anxious that people become more aware of these kinds of crimes. But it is not only seniors and their families who need an education. All of those who deal with seniors -- bankers, lawyers, doctors, nurses, social workers and hospital administrators -- have to be on the watch for signs and symptoms of elder abuse.
"People can't be allowed to get away with this kind of stuff. If something has happened to you (as a senior) or you know a senior who might be a victim of this kind of thing, please tell us," Wolf said.
"Privacy is important, but it should be outweighed by concern for the person's well-being," said Wolf, pointing out that privacy laws contain provisions that protect people who act reasonably and in good faith from criminal and civil liability.
The situation of the elderly woman is, perhaps, a case in point. "Somebody (at the bank) should have wondered why this woman's life savings, which had always been intact, were suddenly being depleted, and then asked a few questions."
As it was, police only learned of the woman's situation after someone who works with elderly clients tipped them to the problem. "They alerted us to the fact that there were several seniors in the building who were being defrauded. There was some intimidation, lots of bullying, lots of manipulation and lots of money going (missing)."
Unfortunately, Wolf said, it took years before anyone -- victim or witness -- came forward. In the meantime, "these people were absolutely devastated when their little nest eggs were wiped out."
Anyone with information about elder abuse and/or fraud is asked to call the Ottawa police elder abuse section at 613-236-1222, ext. 5650, or Crime Stoppers at 613-233-8477.
© Copyright (c) The Ottawa Citizen
SOURCE: The Ottawa Citizen
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